It's Time for Louis van Gaal to End Wayne Rooney Midfield Experiment at Man Utd
It's difficult to know how successful Louis van Gaal has been in his first six months as Manchester United manager.
On one hand, he's third in the Premier League table and into the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. On the other, there are supporters who have been underwhelmed with his style of football. That United have scored 12 fewer goals than leaders Chelsea so far this season.
Van Gaal's United have been functional. They've found a way to win games when they perhaps shouldn't have. It's a good quality to have, but not something to rely on in the long-term.
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The same is true of Van Gaal's use of Wayne Rooney in midfield. Rooney's talents—his passing, vision, energy and aggression—mean he can do a job in midfield. Van Gaal isn't the first United manager to work that out.
You can always be sure he'll work hard. That he'll be functional, rather than spectacular. But Rooney can be spectacular. That volley against Newcastle. Or the overhead kick against Manchester City.
They were moments of genius. Two examples of Rooney's skill and technique. There are plenty of others, and nearly all of them have come when he's played as a striker, either leading the line on his own or playing up front with a partner.
He's a well-rounded footballer. It's why it has been so easy for managers to move him around. But primarily, he's a goalscorer, and he has been since he was spotted by Everton's scouts as a nine-year-old.
There are becoming fewer and fewer reasons for Van Gaal to continue with Rooney in midfield. Radamel Falcao and Robin van Persie haven't hit it off as a partnership, and there are cases to be made that neither should start at Swansea on Saturday. James Wilson, meanwhile, is stuck in that uncomfortable purgatory of being too good for the under-21s but not good enough for an extended run in the first team.
Van Gaal is still a man short in midfield with Michael Carrick on the sidelines. But, then, Ander Herrera is due a run—he's started just once in the Premier League since October 20.
Van Gaal might not be able to let his team off the leash just yet. It's likely that United will remain functional rather than spectacular for the rest of the season. There's too much to lose if they don't qualify for the Champions League.
But there is something to be gained from letting Rooney get back to what he does best. Not chasing around in midfield, but scoring goals. Playing him in a position where other teams have to worry about him, rather than one where he has to worry about the other team.
In his first season, with his rebuild at Old Trafford still incomplete, Van Gaal might not be able to field a spectacular team just yet. But he can at least give Rooney the chance to be.
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